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Takuma Sato took the pole for the second Detroit IndyCar race of the weekend on Sunday. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

It all came down to the last lap for Takuma Sato on Sunday morning. In the final lap of IndyCar qualifying at Detroit, Sato broke the track record and vaulted himself onto the pole with a lap time of 1:16.1371.

"I'm extremely pleased for the team," said Sato, who drives the No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda. "Yesterday was a tough day with the gearbox problem, but we were able to use the race as a test session and we learned a lot. We found something that we needed to solve, and the team and the engineers did a great job getting everything together.

The track at Belle Isle has been extremely fast this weekend, as Helio Castroneves broke the track record in qualifying yesterday.

During Sunday's sessions, before Sato claimed the pole, James Hinchcliffe and Castroneves each broke the record as well.

"The story of my year," Hinchcliffe said. "It's unbelievable. This is our fifth second-place start of the year. Going out in the first group, we knew we were in a bit of a disadvantage. The track always gets better for the second group, but I drove everything that I had off."

Twenty-one of the 22 drivers have elected to start the race on alternate (soft) tires, while Mike Conway will start the race fourth on primary tires.

"Strategy will be a key again in the race," Conway said. "It was big in Saturday's race. You will see how things play out early in the race."

The second Detroit IndyCar race of the weekend will start at 3:50 p.m.